Your Right to Know

Reynoldsburg’s hopes of recovering nearly $1.2 million the city spent to bury power lines as
part of its Main Street beautification project have been shot down by the Ohio Supreme Court.

The justices ruled unanimously yesterday that the city was not entitled to recover the money
from Columbus Southern Power Co., a subsidiary of American Electric Power.

An electric utility tariff holding cities responsible for the costs of power-line relocations
takes precedence over a 2005 city ordinance that requires utilities to pay, the justices ruled.

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio heard the dispute last year and sided with Columbus
Southern Power in a 3-2 vote, ruling that it would be unfair for the utility’s customers to pay the
costs of a project benefiting only Reynoldsburg.

Reynoldsburg had argued that its ordinance was lawful under its home-rule powers, but the
Supreme Court found that the law was not an exercise in home rule.

The justices said that the ordinance instead was an exercise of the city’s police powers to
promote “the public health, safety and welfare” and thus did not overcome “the general law” of the
state attached to the tariff.

Reynoldsburg agreed to pay the costs of moving the power lines underground pending later court
rulings in the case.

AEP spokeswoman Terri Flora said the Columbus-based utility was pleased with the ruling to
uphold the PUCO decision.

“It’s a fairness issue,” she said. “The ruling basically affirms the commission’s original
decision that imposing costs for beautification projects on ratepayers outside the (affected)
community” is not permissible.

Reynoldsburg city attorney Jed Hood said the city “had hoped for a better outcome” in attempting
to obtain a refund of part of the nearly $17 million project to spruce up Main Street.